Alumni Spotlight: Katherine Chen

Katherine Chen

Katherine Chen is a Senior Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company, currently on secondment at One Acre Fund in Nairobi, Kenya. Katherine is from Plano, TX and graduated from UT Austin in 2021. Katherine has lived and studied across the world ranging from Latin America, Europe, and Africa. In her free time, you can find her hiking, taking photos, learning a new language, practicing yoga, or curating Spotify playlists.

Katherine has been working in Nairobi, Kenya for the past seven months through One Acre Fund. One Acre Fund is an NGO (non-governmental organization) that supports over 4 million smallholder farmers in Africa with asset-based financing and climate-smart agricultural training services. Katherine has admired this organization since she watched the CEO of the organization, Andrew Youn, speak in his Ted Talk titled “3 reasons why we can win the fight against poverty.” In her current role, Katherine designs and implements large-scale change management projects to strengthen the organization’s performance. She is currently leading a goals campaign alongside the incoming CEO to help staff connect their work to the organization’s 2030 Impact Vision of serving 10 million farmers annually. In October and November of last year, she traveled to rural western Kenya and spent time in the field visiting the farmer families. She recalled this trip as an eye-opening and humbling experience, being able to talk with the farmers and learn about their aspirations for the future.

During her time at UT, she majored in Finance and Iberian and Latin American Languages and Cultures (Spanish), with a certificate in Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofits. Katherine says that she has always been interested in how businesses can be forces for good and was drawn to Canfield BHP because of the freedom it gave her to explore this path.

Katherine reminisces on her time as a student in Canfield BHP and says that she most cherishes the lifelong friends she made through the program. “It’s rare to find a community in which everyone is so bright and ambitious, yet incredibly caring and supportive of one another. Whether it be causing mayhem in our freshman dorms, watching the World Cup while abroad in Buenos Aires, bracing our first “winter storm” together, or graduating in a global pandemic, I’m grateful to have had these people beside me through it all.”.

Katherine says her academic journey at UT helped her conceptualize the type of career path she wanted to take after graduating. Her business classes helped her discover her passion for strategic problem-solving and innovative thinking. Through her classes in the School of Social Work, she realized she wanted to use these skills for the purpose of impact. She was pleasantly surprised to find how much intersectionality exists between the private, public, and social sectors. Outside of the classroom, Katherine was involved in leading the university’s student philanthropy organization, the Student Foundation. As President, she spoke across lecture halls and meetings to rally support for students affected by food insecurity, mental health crises, family emergencies, and natural disasters. Through this work, she learned the importance of human empathy combined with storytelling to inspire others.

Katherine recalls one of her favorite experiences from college, NOLS: “Besides sleeping next to (our favorable CBHP advisor) Steph in a tent and getting caught in an unexpected snowstorm, one thing I did not expect to learn from the trip was the concept of Type 1 vs. Type 2 fun. Type 1 fun is pure fun in the moment. Type 2 fun is challenging in the moment, but rewarding in retrospect. NOLS was both, but I realized I found much more fulfillment in the latter. It’s hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment after spending eight days in the mountains – it shattered my perspective of what I was truly capable of. Because of NOLS, I now actively seek opportunities to push myself outside of my comfort zone, including my career decisions.” She continues telling us how NOLS has impacted her interests: “Since NOLS, I can admit that I’ve developed an addiction to multi-day treks. The summer after graduating, I flew to Europe to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 105-mile loop that crosses through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Now that I’m in East Africa, I’m lucky to be surrounded by the most beautiful treks. I hiked Mount Kenya in October of last year, and summited Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, on Christmas Day.”

When asked what advice Katherine has for students interested in pursuing a career in consulting, she answered, “Think about why you want to pursue a career in consulting. Though rewarding, it’s not an easy job, and it helps to have a sense of purpose behind what you’re doing. Personally, I saw consulting as the best way to hone my problem-solving and stakeholder management skills that would be critical to a career in the development space. And more importantly, be kind to yourself during the recruiting process. In a program like Canfield BHP where you’re constantly surrounded by other high achievers, it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race. Continue to prioritize your hobbies, your relationships, and your mental health. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received that I remind myself to this day is, ‘Chill out and enjoy the ride. Life has a way of pushing you to the brightest, shiniest next thing. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.’”

Alumni Spotlight: Khushboo Kamnani

Khushboo Kamnani

Khushboo Kamnani is currently a part of Google’s Corporate FP&A team in San Francisco, California. Prior to joining Google, Khushboo spent nearly six years at Shell and two years at Uber in various Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) roles. She was raised in Houston, Texas and had the opportunity to work in various cities across the US and UK. In her free time, Khushboo enjoys traveling, engaging in local philanthropic activities, and wine-tasting. 

 

What did you study during your time at UT? What drew you to the Canfield BHP program?

As a student, Khushboo majored in finance with a minor in accounting. She was involved in CBHP as the Make-A-Mark Social Chair and as a member of the Honors Business Student Association. Additionally, she was a part of the Undergraduate Business Council, University Securities Investment team, Financial Analyst Program, and the Longhorn Run Committee. Khushboo cherished the small class size and the bespoke curriculum which provided her with transferable skills. More importantly, she fostered relationships with her classmates that eventually turned into her close friends. 

What impactful moments led you to where you are in your career?

Khushboo started her career as part of a Finance Rotation Program at Shell in Houston, Texas. The program allowed her to try various accounting & FP&A roles which allowed her to figure out her interests. After completing her rotations, Khushboo chose to pursue a business-facing role at Shell’s downstream oil refinery in Martinez, California. She spent nearly two years working with the production engineers and business leads to manage the operating expense (Opex) portfolio for chemical usage and carbon emissions at the refinery. Khushboo really enjoyed the fast-paced environment, driving end-to-end forecasting and accounting for her business areas, and engaging in strategic conversations while pushing the business to rethink their Opex portfolio. Being in the Bay Area, Khushboo decided to make a move to the technology sector and joined the Corporate FP&A team at Uber. At Uber, Khushboo spearheaded the monthly forecasting and annual planning process across the entire company. The switch into the tech industry was a pivotal moment in Khushboo’s career as the exposure as the pace of work was significantly faster than that of the energy industry. She had to learn extremely quickly, deal with a constantly changing business landscape, and manage expectations of multiple stakeholders. Though the work was demanding, Khushboo learned several valuable lessons that she carried into her current role at Google. She hopes to progress down the FP&A path and is extremely thankful for the knowledge base that CBHP provided her. 

How did Canfield BHP prepare you for this role?

The CBHP program created a very rigorous yet collaborative environment which pushed me to think strategically and produce creative solutions for real-world business problems. Every assignment was tailored to push us to draw on each others’ strengths while presenting our best work product to our customer, the professor. All of these moments culminated into an example bank that I could draw from while going through challenging situations in my corporate role. It’s also comforting to stay connected with other CBHP alumni and professors and share my experiences with them. 

Do you have any advice for current Canfield BHP students?

Don’t let rejection stand in the way of your perseverance. If it weren’t for all those times I didn’t get the opportunities I wanted, I wouldn’t have tried harder for the future opportunities. All you can do is remain disciplined about your approach, and the right opportunity will present itself at the right time. I reached out to several of my CBHP classmates and professors when facing challenges in the corporate world. It was eye-opening to learn from their perspectives and it only pushed me to continue challenging myself. 

Anything additional you’d like to add?

A huge thanks to Shelley, CBHP professors and staff, and the CBHP Alumni Advisory Board. I am extremely grateful to be a part of this foundation.

Alumni Spotlight: Sarah and Andrew Bramlett

     

Andrew and Sarah met early on during their time in the Business Honors Program at Leadership Kickoff their Freshman year. Both Sarah and Andrew come from burnt orange and accounting families and have been avid Texas fans their entire lives. The couple got married in 2021 and you can often find them hanging out with family and friends watching Texas athletics over some good Tex-Mex.

Both Sarah and Andrew majored in Business Honors and Accounting and continued onto the iMPA program to earn their Masters in Professional Accounting. Andrew also majored in Plan II Honors. Sarah stated that she was drawn to the Business Honors Program for its small classroom settings, the personal professor-student relationships, and its rigorous course-load. After some time in the program, she found that her favorite aspect of the program wass the tight-knit community that it built.

Now, Sarah and Andrew are both Senior Associates at Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Dallas, TX. Sarah works in the audit group where she serves public Consumer Service and Industrial Products clients. She works with engagement teams to perform audit procedures over companies’ internal controls over financial reporting and their financial statements to provide reasonable assurance that the financials are free from material error, as well as provide specific audit findings, to users of their financial statements. Andrew works in Capital Markets Accounting Advisory Services, which is a part of the Consulting solutions practice, specifically in the Deals platform. He provides accounting services for transactions – IPOs, acquisitions, divestitures, etc., helping both industry and private equity clients. Sarah and Andrew are also a part of the PwC UT Recruiting team!

When asked about what impactful moments led her to her career at PwC, Sarah said, “Throughout my career I have always prioritized raising my hand – to help others or take on more work, etc. At times this effort has brought an overload of work, which over time has allowed me to learn to build work/life boundaries; But often, this effort has provided me with numerous opportunities to be faced with a challenge in which I typically was unable to solve alone. These challenges taught me to use all resources I have access to, to reach out to my superiors and learn from their experiences, and to also share in the knowledge I gain from conquering these challenges.”

Separately, Andrew said that it was his class with Professor Steven Smith that convinced him to go into accounting. Furthermore, growing up he often recalled a the national championship UT won in 2005, which encouraged him to work hard in high school so he could attend UT.

 

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“Canfield helped me in many ways, but I would say the two biggest are giving me a great community of friends in college that helped drive me to work hard and think about my future, and secondly by putting me in numerous group work situations. The group dynamics are probably the most important thing about the jobs that business students will go in to, and there are no better teams than those of BHP students”, said Andrew when talking about the moments he felt that Canfield Business Honors most impacted his career.

Sarah and Andrew will soon be making a big move to PwC Switzerland. There, they will be partaking in a 2-year rotation with the company. They have always wanted to live and Europe and have had a shared interest in the region since they each studied abroad in Europe in 2016 (Sarah – London, Andrew – Rome). During this rotation they will continue their same work that they are currently doing as US audit/consulting resources.

We asked both Sarah and Andrew if they had any advice for current Canfield BHP students, and this is what they had to say:

Sarah: “I recommend all BHP students participate in everything the program has to offer – HBA, professor/TA office hours and events, optional courses, group study sessions, program socials, etc. The BHP faculty and community is one of the best resources I invested in while I was at UT and I am forever grateful for the knowledge, skill sets, friends and mentors it has provided with me throughout the years.”

Andrew: “Enjoy the 4 or 5 years – you don’t get it back! Join as many clubs and organizations as you can your first 2 years – those relationships you build will remain very important in your careers. Don’t worry about getting a job – you’ll get a great one.”

Canfield BHP Alumni Advisory Board Welcomes New Members

The Canfield BHP Alumni Advisory Board is pleased to welcome new board members Will Acheampong, Sunil Jaini, Zachary Schultz, Bethany Rolan, and Brian Smith.

Every year the CBHP Alumni Advisory Board meets to guide the direction and accomplish the mission of the business honors program. It is comprised of Canfield BHP alumni who share the goal of supporting and improving one of UT’s finest undergraduate programs. In particular, the Advisory Board assists in fundraising, student recruitment, student mentorship, alumni engagement and helps to increase the overall awareness of Canfield BHP. 

Check out the alumni advisory board page to see the complete list of members.

 

Will Acheampong

Will is an Associate at Redstone Strategy Group, where he helps philanthropies, nonprofits, and governments solve the world’s most urgent social issues. Prior to joining Redstone in New York City, Will served clients in early education strategy, non-profit management, and digital transformation while at the Boston Consulting Group in Dallas, Texas.
Will is a graduate of the Canfield Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a BBA, as well as a BA in Humanities Honors with concentrations in Statecraft, History, and Conflict. While on the Forty Acres, he founded Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières, supported the CBHP office as a peer advisor, and served as an undergraduate fellow in the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Before graduating in 2021, Will was the sophomore recipient of the 2019 Texas Exes President’s Leadership Award and was named the John L. Adams McCombs Scholar of the Year in 2019.
Originally from Houston, Will spends his free time waking up early to support Chelsea Football Club, running up and down the touchline while coaching youth soccer in Brooklyn, and capturing special moments with friends and family on his film camera.
Sunil Jaini
Sunil Jaini is currently an Investment Banking Senior Associate at Morgan Stanley. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Sunil worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and at ConocoPhillips in various energy trading and strategy and business development roles.
Sunil graduated in 2010 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the Canfield Business Honors Program at The University of Texas in Austin, Texas and an MBA from London Business School in London, UK.
In his free time, Sunil enjoys spending time with his wife and family, distance running and traveling to new countries.

 

Zachary Schultz

Zachary Schultz is currently working in Cloud Product Finance at Google in the Geographic Expansion organization. Prior to joining Google, he spent several years in Finance roles at technology companies including Dell Technologies and AMD. In addition to the CBHP Advisory Board he has served as a CBHP Austin Alumni Chair for several years.

Zachary lives in Austin, Texas and has appreciated spending time working with nonprofits outside of his corporate roles over the years. He is currently President of the Susan G. Komen Young Professionals Council in Austin. He enjoys traveling with friends, playing tennis or pickleball, landscaping and spending time on the lakes.

Zachary graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2017 with Business Honors and Supply Chain Management degrees. In addition, he completed a Liberal Arts Minor in African & African Diaspora Studies. While at UT, he was awarded the Texas BBA Student Leadership Award, the Cactus Standout Award, the George Mitchell Student Leadership Award and the Undergraduate Business Council David L. Furhman Award.

 

Bethany Rolan

Bethany graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2017 with a BBA in Supply Chain Management and Business Honors and a BA in Economics. After graduation, Bethany joined McKinsey & Company in thier Houston, Texas office as a Business Analyst. Bethany received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2022 and then returned to McKinsey & Company as an Associate. During her time on the Forty Acres, Bethany served as President of Texas Orange Jackets; worked as a Peer Advisor for the Business Honors Program; conducted research in the McCombs management department; and held board positions within Best Buddies and Campus Events + Entertainment. In 2017, Bethany was selected as the BBA Rising Star Award Recipient and served as a McCombs BBA board member on the Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce from 2017-2020. Bethany is thrilled to help create opportunities for Canfield Business Honors Program students as a member of the board!

 

Brian Smith

Brian Smith is the CFO and COO of Multicoin Capital, a crypto and blockchain focused hedge fund and venture capital investment firm in Austin.  He previously worked in New York and San Francisco as a public equity investor at Tiger Management, a private equity investor with Fox Paine & Co. and an investment banker at Greenhill & Co.  He also served as the vice president of finance at Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ:BV) overseeing FP&A, investor relations and corporate development, including helping to lead the IPO.He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 with a BBA in finance from the Business Honors Program.  He serves as a member of the board of directors of two software companies and has served as a board observer or advisor to over 30 early and late-stage technology companies and investment firms.  He was appointed by the governor of Texas to serve as a member of the board of trustees and member of the investment committee of the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System, a public pension fund for firefighters.  Since 2016, he has served as a guest lecturer at the undergraduate business school teaching classes on IPOs, blockchain and crypto.

Alumni Spotlight: Alexi Cortez

Alexi Cortez

Meet Alexi Cortez, a 2018 BHP graduate and new entrepreneur living in Austin, TX. She worked in gaming since graduation – doing gaming ads, product management, and marketing. Recently, she made the leap into the entrepreneurial world, starting Chain Reactions, an organic marketing agency focused on building online communities. Outside of work, you’ll find her frustrated on the golf course, trying to become a TikTok influencer and cooking.  

Alexi initially started off her journey at UT studying pre-dental and Business Honors but quickly dropped the pre-dental and added a Marketing major. She came to find out that chemistry was not her strong suit.   

She wanted to be a dentist and was given advice to take business classes in addition to her pre-dental core classes so that she would be well-equipped to run a private dental practice. During her college search, she quickly found that there were very few universities that were strong in the sciences had strong business programs, or even offered business degrees. UT offered both. 

Canfield BHP was compelling to her given the strong curriculum. She knew she could graduate and be confident in my ability to run a private practice. The biggest selling point to her was the small cohort – she was intimidated going to a big school and was excited knowing that she would have her own community from day on.  

Alexi’s worst subjects by far were MIS and STA, but they were also her favorite. She loved knowing what was possible with data but was struggled with the the execution. 

Her second internship was with Facebook, where she was tasked with sales prospecting for the gaming team. They had her initially doing a ton of manual vetting that was taking days to complete, was not scalable, and was just BRUTAL. She remembered predictive modeling from her statistics class and was able to create a predictive model that could identify high-quality sales leads in minutes. The project was a huge success, and she was asked to return to Facebook on an established team instead of a new grad team.  

After working on the gaming team at Facebook, she joined a web3 gaming start-up where she led all marketing efforts and built a strong organic community for our game. She recently left that company to start Chain Reactions.  

Alexi attributes a lot of her current success to the time and effort she put in during her internship. She says “If it hadn’t been for my success during my internship, I wouldn’t have returned to the gaming team full time, which led me to the gaming start-up, which eventually led me to starting my own company.” 

When Alexi talks about how she felt Canfield BHP prepared her for future work she states, “The hands-on training from Canfield BHP really paid off in the real world. It equipped me with strong skills in Excel, stats, sales, management, and communications. I noticed these were areas others often found challenging, but thanks to the business honors program, I was able to stand out and bring extra value to each team I have been part of. 

Alexi leaves us with some advice to future and current Canfield BHP students, “Do it all – learn as much as you can, network as much as you can, and say yes to everything you can. If you do that, you’ll have every opportunity within arm’s reach.”